Page 104 of Lady and the Hitman

“No. It was the night before that—after the zoo thing.” I paused, watching her eyes go wide. “He drew me a bath. Lit candles. Then he held me all night. Just held me.”

Mina’s mouth opened. Closed. Then opened again. “He … didn’t try anything?”

“He could’ve. I wanted him to. But he said no. Said he wanted it to happen in Charleston. Said he wanted it to be more.”

She stared like I’d sprouted wings. “So he flew you to Miami, there was a zoo thing, he gave you the slowest burn of your life in a candlelit tub, and then cuddled you?”

I gave a helpless little shrug. “Yeah.”

Mina narrowed her eyes. “Wait—back up again. What the hell do you mean by a ‘zoo thing?’”

I exhaled slowly, unsure how to even begin. “It was a private overnight event at Zoo Miami. Some kind of wild, curated experience. There were other women … and we were hunted.”

Mina’s jaw dropped. “Hunted?”

“Not like with weapons or anything,” I said quickly. “But it was primal. Orchestrated. They gave us a head start, and then the men came after us. Ronan found me.”

“Oh, my God,” she breathed, wide-eyed. “And you were okay with that?”

“I wasn’t sure I would be,” I admitted. “But … it didn’t feel how it sounds. He didn’t hurt me. He didn’t even touch me—at least not like that. It was intense, yeah. But it was also exactly what I asked for.”

Mina blinked. “What do you mean?”

I lowered my voice. “In the letter. The one I wrote to Alpha Mail. I said I wanted to be hunted.”

Her mouth fell open. “Yousaid that?”

I nodded. “I didn’t think they’d actually do it. It was one of those things I never expected to come true. But he read it. He listened. And he gave me exactly what I asked for … just not in the way I expected.”

Mina stared like I’d just confessed to summoning a demon and falling in love with it. “That’s insane. That’s like—romance novel meets psychological warfare meets Jane Goodall goes to hell.”

I laughed, breath catching. “Honestly? It didn’t feel scary. It felt like he wanted me to surrender. Not just physically. Emotionally. And I think I did.”

“That’s not a hookup,” she muttered, shaking her head. “That’s a fucking love letter written in actions.”

I nodded.

“After doing that? Girl, if I were him, I’d have dragged you back to the hotel by your hair and made the maid staff wait.”

My lips twitched. “You’re not him.”

She sat back hard in her seat, like the weight of it all finally hit her. “So he’s interested. Gorgeous. Probably dangerous. And he’s showing restraint?”

I nodded again.

Mina shook her head slowly. “That’s not a hookup. That’s a problem.”

And that’s when a voice from the next table piped up—a techie guy who always seemed to be working on an app no one had asked for. “Hey Zara, that column you dropped? About Alpha Mail?” He gave a mock bow from his seat. “Ballsy.”

I forced a smile. “Thanks.”

Another woman chimed in from across the room. “That last line? ‘Freedom isn’t always about walking away. Sometimes it’s about choosing who you walk toward’? Gave me chills.”

Mina didn’t look at them. She was still watching me. “You wrote that?”

I nodded.

She leaned closer again, voice lower now. “Zara, I know you. I know when you're all in. You’re glowing and flustered and walking like someone who got railed against a balcony last night.”